Help:What is a hero?
In most stories, there are characters that are on the side of good, the ones we cheer for and want to see win. They are often referred to as "protagonists" even though the original meaning of that word meant only the main "good guy" character. They face challenges, have a goal to work towards and deal with problems caused by the bad guys, which sometimes includes a villain. Heroes are good guys that go beyond simply being good. Their actions inspire others, the goals and challenges they face are very difficult or nearly impossible, they find solutions and answers that others miss, and they may risk their lives to save the day. This page will help identify who is and is not a hero. Minor protagonists are not heroes Whether they are called something like a "minor protagonist", or descriptions with "tertiary" or anything below, these characters are not heroes. Minor characters in a story usually do not have the opportunity to do something that would be considered heroic. If they somehow do, they are no longer a minor character. There are also phrases like "deuteragonist" and "trigatonist", which sometimes means "There are two (or three) equally-important main characters and this is one of them" and sometimes they mean "This is a second-level (or third-level) character that is a good guy." For the sake of this help page, the "they are less important" description will be used and they are also not heroes. Since this is a wiki about good guys in general, this page will help identify characters that may or may not also be a hero. Stories without heroes In some stories, there may not be a clear-cut hero. This is especially true of series like Winnie the Pooh, which is for younger kids. In these cases, look carefully at whether it really is necessary to pick a hero. If all you can say is, "that character is the most good", then you probably should skip trying to select a hero because you would be trying to force the story to have a hero when there isn't one. Automatic heroes Related to trying to make a story have a hero when there isn't one is the temptation to assume that good guys are automatically heroes. Unless the story shows a character making the extra effort to overcome problems in ways that are outstanding and fit the descriptions above, they are just a good guy and not a hero, even if that good guy is the main character. Just doing their job Many characters fall into the "they look like they're good guys" category, but that's the extend of how good they are. Likewise, a character that is hired or associated with a hero isn't automatically a hero themselves. For example, in a war movie, the hero or their platoon might get a meal before heading out to the front lines. The soldiers that served them the meal can be considered good guys, but serving the meal is just their job that day and isn't considered a heroic action. Contradictory categories When choosing categories for a hero, be careful not to add contradictory categories. For example, if a character is "always heroic", they can't be "occasionally heroic". The second contradicts the first. Category:Help